Afterwards
by Oakfeather
Summary: Suigintou and Megu fluff, post Traumend Episode 12: Alice. One-shot.


A/N

This takes place in the universe of the first adaptation series, Rozen Maiden, Rozen Maiden Traumend and Rozen Maiden Ouverture, though the manga/2013 Zuruckspulen adaptation might be referenced here and there.

It is just a cute, pointless fluffy fic with Suigintou and Megu, taking place post Traumend Episode 12, Alice. I had some Megu and Suigintou feels seeing that little scene at the end, and I felt like writing this. If you like it, please review! If you don't... ahh, sorry? Good luck finding a fic you like better :P.

_EDIT 10/1/14: Fixed most or all errors and improved some sentences. Cover added!  
_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Rozen Maiden, or the song mentioned below. Rozen Maiden was created by Peach-Pit. Cover image drawn by myself, please do not re-use without credit.  
_

*1: If this wasn't obvious, Otou-sama means father.

*2: Shinigami means something like death-god, or as I twisted it slightly, death angel. I think others have used this for Megu referring to Suigintou before :P

*3: Hai means yes.

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The eyelids of a pale Rozen Maiden flickered, revealing flecks of deep crimson behind thick lashes. Suigintou sucked in a single breath, relishing the sensation of breathing once more.

The air was sweet with the smell of the flowers that grew in the mansion courtyards of her birthplace. Only, this place was not truly her birthplace. It was a perfect replica that existed only inside the N-Field dimension.

How was it that should could lay here, breathing in these wondrous, nostalgic scents? She was certain she hadn't dreamed of her battles, battles that ended with her being slaughtered by her fake sibling, Barasuishou. She died trying to protect her right to be the one to turn Shinku into junk... Or could it have been to protect Shinku herself? She couldn't be sure of the truth, as much as she wanted to deny any feelings of their old bond lingering inside her.

She remembered giving her Rosa Mystica to Shinku, lending her the powers of flight and feathers through it. Being held in Shinku's possession had been such a warm sensation. It had soothed her enough that she finally felt able to reveal the true reason for her participation in the Alice Game to Shinku.

Megu.

Her eyes widened, and she sat bolt upright. Megu... she had used Megu's powers inadvertently during the battle, having become too wrapped up in her emotions to notice she had been channeling from her sickly medium. How foolish she had been! If she hadn't felt Megu's pain and discomfort through their bond when she did, the girl surely would have died.

She ran her fingers over the rose ring upon her finger, trying to reach out to her medium. She was still alive, to Suigintou's relief.

She could go to see Megu now; perhaps she would apologize for using her without regard to her condition. Not that the sickly girl would mind. In fact, she would probably complain to Suigintou that she hadn't used up all of her life power.

Suigintou's lips twitched into a fond smile, and she rested her hand in her lap, against her abdomen.

Her... abdomen? Suigintou's feline-esque pupils widened into huge orbs, and she grasped at herself through the thick fabric of her dress. She had an abdomen, how could that possibly be? What was going on? "Otou-sama*1..." she whispered, tightening her grip on her abdomen and trailing her fingers along it hesitantly, as if afraid it would dissolve beneath her touch, "Otou-sama... did you? Did you save me again?"

Could it really be possible that she was... no longer junk? Complete, as much as any of her other sisters? The idea brought warm tears of happiness to her eyes.

She stood up and gazed around at her surroundings. She was back in the gardens of the N-Field, though now Suiseiseki's and Kanaria's crystallized bodies were absent. "Otou-sama, are you there? Why have you returned me to life? Why have you repaired me? Please answer me, Otou-sama..." for a time, there was only peaceful silence, and then a bell-like laugh rang pleasantly in her ears. Memories of soft hands tugging at her ribboned choker, caressing her and smoothing down her hair flooded her mind.

She closed her eyes and brought both hands to her chest in contentment.

"It seems that the dazzling light of truth has shown itself today. A pity, when I was enjoying the theatrics so..." a deep, mysterious voice echoed from behind her.

She turned her head, a wave of annoyance squashing her previous feelings of pleasure. "Laplace no ma."

The demon rabbit bent over in a deep, solemn bow, though his red eyes sparkled with a sort of sadistic humor. At least, she _thought_ it was humor. It was hard to tell with such a person as Laplace.

Straightening again, he said, "It seems as though your siblings have already departed from the N-Field; you would be wise to do the same. Unless, you prefer to stay here, chasing old memories and looking a great deal like a lovesick puppy."

She scowled at him, "I wasn't intending to stay here for long. I was merely contemplating the situation at hand... It's not every day you get brought back to life."

It did seem to be a running theme for her, though.

"If you were wondering," he began, "the Alice Game shall continue, though an alternative has been proposed. All possible paths shall be cleared of their confusing fog soon enough. You must let go of your misconceptions and accept the work of fate; only then shall you see the true path to becoming the ultimate maiden..."

"If you have nothing more than riddles to spout, I must ask you to leave me. You do bore me so," Suigintou growled, making to walk away to the edge of the garden, hoping to find some sort of exit. She never could stand that irritating rabbit's ramblings. not since the time he had interrupted her first Alice Game.

"And, fear not! You won't have to steal any more Rosa Mysticae from your dear sisters, seeing that your precious Otou-sama has willed a different sort of game to come into play. Isn't that delightful?"

This caused her to freeze in her tracks. Otou-sama didn't wish for her to take her sisters' Rosa Mysticae anymore? She hadn't truly been pursuing the main objective of Alice for some time now, but Barasuishou had said that the Rosa Mysticae were the solution to curing Megu's condition. For her to have ceased working toward Otou-sama's dreams of Alice was one thing, but it was another thing entirely for her to blatantly go against his wishes and continue trying to procure all of the Rosa Mysticae. Could she defy Otou-sama to save her sickly, beloved medium?

Megu wasn't more to her than Otou-sama... Right? Did she believe that anymore?

Laplace chuckled softly, as if he could hear her internal turmoil. "Surely, this isn't a problem? Has Suigintou's medium become so precious to her, that she would defy her supposedly most precious creator? My, my, Suigintou. I had seen the brambles slowly ensnaring your heart, but even for me, this is quite unexpected."

"Quiet. You only mean to trouble me for your own amusement, pathetic rabbit," she sneered, putting on a confident facade, "Now that your toy has broken, you are bored. These supposed brambles are nothing to stand in my way. I will find the 'true path' that I desire, and there is no doubt I will reach my goals."

He pouted, seemingly hurt, though she knew it was more play for the demon. "You and I are so much alike, yet you speak of me so cruelly, I am shocked, Suigintou! Truly, though, I do wonder if the path you speak of is not that of Alice, but the one that comes from your heart, the heart you now keep for the medium..."

She was silent at this. It was true that her affection for her medium had grown greatly. She had begun dividing her time between fidgeting at Megu's bedside and flying around near the church ruins and the Sakurada household, trying to figure out the fastest solution to attaining the Rosa Mysticae her medium desperately needed. The Alice Game was far from her mind. She couldn't truly deny it to herself any longer.

"You've gone soft. Though, you've always had some softness in your heart, haven't you?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but the words died on her lips; she was unable to think of anything sufficient to say to change his ideas of her. Laplace was merely wasting her time, anyhow. She scoffed quietly at him. "... I must be taking my leave now. Be seeing you, I suppose." Pushing her troubled thoughts out of her mind, she spread her wings, taking to the darkening skies, leaving behind the mysterious white rabbit.

Laplace adjusted his top hat and seemed to smile.

"Most interesting."

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Suigintou glided over the city, focusing her eyes on the bobbing ball of light ahead of her. She didn't really need Meimei's help navigating in the dark-her feline eyes gave her excellent night vision-but it was better that she had something besides her troubled thoughts to concentrate on. She had tried to call upon Lempicka as well, but she quickly realized that both the artificial spirit and Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica were absent from her body. She felt as though a weight had been removed from her chest-the Rosa Mystica of her younger sister had been rejecting her body; it burned away painfully inside her chest, only growing more intense whenever she had neared Souseiseki's twin sister. Still, she was now short a Rosa Mystica that she needed in order to help Megu. She frowned as her attention was brought back to the dilemma that was eating away at her.

She couldn't go against Otou-sama, could she? But then again, how could she possibly allow Megu to perish? Though, the ill girl was disturbingly fond of the idea of death. Such a strange, stupid human. Every human she had encountered clung to life with impressive strength, and yet Megu literally thrust her life upon Suigintou in hopes that her 'shinigami-sama'*2 would take it away. Foolish, foolish human. Suigintou would restore her health and show her that she could live beyond the hospital, attend school with that Sakurada boy. Perhaps she could make other friends besides a supernatural doll. She could even teach her how to make a decent cup of tea.

... Crap, she really had gone soft, hadn't she?

Despite admitting this to herself, Suigintou's heart felt strangely light. Otou-sama had restored her Rosa Mystica, and completed her broken body. She didn't have to fight her sisters any more, according to Laplace, and she had grown to have a great deal of affection for her medium, which seemed to be reciprocated.

Was this happiness? She gently rolled over in the air, gazing up at the full moon in its glowing beauty. Perhaps things weren't so bad anymore. She hadn't felt this way since the days before the Alice Game, when her greatest concerns were learning how to brew the perfect cup of black tea with Shinku.

Meimei suddenly flared its light, circling above her face and pulsing to catch her attention. 'We're here. You seem distracted.'

"I guess I was just thinking," she responded lightly, swooping down to locate the familiar windowsill that belonged to Megu's room.

Another pulse. 'Really? That's a new one.'

"Quiet, Meimei." Honestly, the artificial spirit was as snarky as she was.

She landed softly, her black shoes clicking as they came in contact with the thin ledge. She leaned inside, snowy white hair falling over her shoulders as she looked at the bed.

Suigintou let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding; she knew that Megu was still alive due to the bond of the contract, but it was another thing to see that she was well with her own eyes. At least, as well as she could be. She didn't appear to have worsened, thankfully, and she wasn't hooked up to any of the strange, and, to Suigintou, futuristic contraptions that Megu said were helpful in keeping her stable and monitoring her heart's pulse.

A small smile came to her lips as she watched the girl roll onto her back, hair splayed across her pillow and hands gripping loosely at her sheets.

As much as she wanted to speak with her, perhaps apologize futilely for her power-draining actions during the battle, she decided to allow the girl her sleep. Instead, she looked out the window to watch the rising full moon peacefully.

"Suigintou!" A voice gasped happily behind her. "You came to see me."

Warmth spread through Suigintou at Megu's eager exclamation, and she turned toward the bedridden girl, a small, but affectionate smile appearing on her face.

"Yes. How are you feeling?" She asked, her voice faltering as a feeling of guilt crept up on her. She drifted towards her medium, landing on the edge of the bed sheets.

Megu sat up, smiling a bit wider. "You were using my powers, I could feel it." She raised a hand from under the sheets, tugging back the long yellow sleeve of her nightshirt to reveal her rose ring to Suigintou. She then clasped it to her chest, one hand curling over it. "It got so warm, and I could feel you, pulling my life away, til I passed out!"

Suigintou frowned and looked away, staring into space. "I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to do it."

"No, it's okay." She sighed, following Suigintou's gaze. "I only wish you hadn't stopped so quickly... I was surprised to wake up again. I gave the nurses quite a fright... But, are you alright, Suigintou?"

"Eh?" she blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Megu reached out toward Suigintou's hand hesitantly, as if Suigintou might fly away like a startled bird if she moved too quickly. She did no such thing, and allowed Megu to take her hand and run her fingers over Suigintou's, stopping on her rose ring.

"I know that my Death Angel-sama is quite powerful," she began, smiling, "So, it must have been a bad fight if Suigintou had to draw power from me. Isn't that right?"

Suigintou considered denying it, but she couldn't bring herself to lie as she gazed at the concerned look of the girl in front of her. "It was. Another doll maker tricked us Rozen Maidens, he created a doll that was disguised as our youngest, seventh sister." Suigintou smirked slightly, "She couldn't become Alice, though. Our Rosa Mysticae were too powerful for someone like her to contain within her body. She destroyed herself with her actions."

Megu nodded, "But, she took your Rosa Mystica?"

"Yes, but Otou-sama gave it back..." A small smile danced on her lips as her free hand drifted up to her abdomen. "And, he..."

Megu's eyes widened, "Suigintou, you..." She raised her own free hand, and reached out to touch, half expecting to push her fingers into empty space beyond the black and white fabrics, but she met something solid and soft.

Suigintou flushed slightly, but smiled at Megu. "I am... no longer 'junk'."

Megu had learned of Suigintou's missing body part recently. Suigintou had stayed outside in the rain to watch over Megu while her father visited, not wanting to leave the girl alone when she knew how agitated the man made her. Megu had scolded her for not leaving for shelter when she flew back in the window some time later, sopping wet. The girl had insisted upon having her clothes hung up to dry in exchange for a spare nightshirt of Megu's.

She had been reluctant to expose her unfortunate condition to Megu, fearing the girl would no longer hold the same affection for her when she saw that she was in such awful shape, but the girl had said something completely unexpected instead.

_"Amazing!" she had gasped, "I knew Angel-sama was amazing, but to see such magic!"_

_"Eh? What are you talking about?" Suigintou asked sourly, pulling her frilly undergarments closer to her body again in some kind of attempt to cover herself, though she was taken aback by the girl's response to seeing her problem. Then again, Megu was always saying something contrary to what Suigintou expected._

_"Even though Angel-sama is broken, she still walks and flies. It's magic! Suigintou is so much stronger than I-I am just as broken, but I could never do the things Suigintou can... You do enough for the both of us, though, so it's okay. But one day, I want to be like Suigintou, too, after I die." She closed her eyes and smiled. "I'll be an angel, too."_

"Suigintou is even more amazing," Megu's soft murmur brought her out of her reminiscing. Megu's smile became somewhat wan, and she closed her eyes. "But now, I guess I'm the only one who is 'junk' here, right?"

She was shocked to be suddenly slapped across the cheek. "...?"

"Stupid. Don't say things like 'junk' so flippantly. You're no kind of junk." Suigintou huffed, crossing her arms.

"But I am. All the nurses think so, even more so now that they think I'm crazy, talking about angels flying in through the window at night," a strangely happy smile played at her lips, "Papa too. If you could just use up my life sooner-"

"No."

"What?"

"No, I won't use up your life... This fake sister, Barasuishou. She told me that if I gathered all of the Rosa Mysticae of my sisters, I could give them to you and fix your broken heart... Otou-sama said not to fight anymore, though..." Suigintou gazed off toward the moon again, thinking hard about her next words. "I was strong enough to survive without a Rosa Mystica, at first. Mine should be the strongest, perhaps stronger than all of my sisters' Rosa Mysticae together. Perhaps... it would be enough to fix you," her voice softened and trailed off.

Laplace was right, she had gone soft. Here she was, offering up her life, her very soul, to her beloved medium. A foolish thing indeed, relinquishing her right to play the Alice Game for a mere human girl... When had she allowed the brambles of love to sneak up upon her heart, coiling around it until there was no way for it to leave Megu behind?

She turned back to see surprise on Megu's face. Suigintou reached out and touched her fingertips to the spot where she had slapped the girl, as if to brush away the redness, though a different kind of redness appeared at the sudden contact.

Megu watched, fascinated, as Suigintou touched her cheek. She'd never really initiated contact like that before.

"You are not 'junk' to me, so... I shall give you my Rosa Mystica."

"No. You can't," Megu said, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.

"Why not?"

"Won't you... won't you die?" she queried.

"... I suppose so, yes. My Rosa Mystica will be absorbed and broken down by your body, and my own shall become inanimate without a power source for me to feed off of. But, if I am as strong as I think I am, you will heal and be able to live a normal life, so I shall do this. You have been a very dear friend to me... I will repay you this way." Suigintou shut her eyes, steeling herself for the act she would preform; removing her own power source.

"No, no, stop it! I-I refuse to have your Rosa Mystica!" the medium shouted, voice escalating into a panic.

"I'm giving you a real life, aren't you happy?" Suigintou asked, bewildered, "Or are you truly so fixed on this death idea?" Her hand dropped back from Megu's cheek to her side.

"Though it isn't so beautiful to me, as I imagine the taste of the mysterious fruit of death; I have thought of the idea of having a regular sort of life... But, it means nothing to me without Suigintou! You are my very closest, my only friend. I'm going to die, and I'll sprout wings and fly right out this window with Suigintou! Then we'll always be together, and we can fly everywhere and anywhere. It will be so much more beautiful, an existence of flight and moonlight," she smiled a childish smile and closed her eyes.

Suigintou opened her eyes again, and frowned. "Truly, you're okay with that? Just dying and staying with me? I'm not the greatest company out there, you know."

Megu smiled so brightly, Suigintou thought she could go blind just looking at her. "Truly! You made a promise to me, Angel-sama, that we'd always be together, forever. In sickness, in heal... er, til' never do we part, even in death. We swore on the ring, didn't we?" she giggled at the memory.

Suigintou returned her smile, and though it was not as bright, Megu was still pleased to see a real smile from Suigintou. "I suppose we did." Suigintou agreed.

"Then, don't suggest such silly things, okay?" Megu laid back on her pillow, still smiling.

"Tsh, you suggest silly things all day long, and yet you scold me?" Suigintou pretended to be annoyed, and sat down beside the girl.

"Angel-sama is too good to suggest silly things, though," she suddenly reached out an arm and wrapped it around Suigintou's middle, pulling her down against her side.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Suigintou stammered, her face turning red as Megu seemed to hug her to herself with one arm.

"I'm so tired, aren't you tired, Angel-sa-ma?" she teased, drawing out the syllables.

"Don't call me that any more... I guess I am tired."

"Sleep, then," Megu urged, "I'll wake you up before the nurses come, so they don't find you."

Suigintou nodded, a sudden wave of lethargy rolling over her. Embarrassed, she pressed herself closer to her medium, giving in to the embrace. Though she should really sleep in her case, she didn't want to be away from her medium after nearly losing her with her negligent actions.

Still, wasn't there some way to help Megu, one that didn't involve going against Otou-sama's wishes, or ending her own life? '_All paths shall be cleared of their confusing fog soon enough, when one has accepted the work of fate_.' A foreign voice murmured inside her head. Hadn't Laplace said something like that? Perhaps it was her fate that she should become so attached to this girl, dare she admit it to herself, even more so than Otou-sama. Perhaps, she hoped, it could be fate she would find a way to save Megu, and keep her sworn promise.

Together forever.

"Aren't you asleep yet?" Megu asked, peering down at Suigintou's glowing crimson eyes that were clearly open.

"... Megu?" she cringed internally, a bit of disbelief at herself burning away inside her as she prepared to ask a particularly difficult question.

"Yes?"

She murmured so quietly, Megu wasn't sure if she understood her words correctly.

"What was that?"

Suigintou attempted a glare up at the girl. "I asked, would you... sing that song?"

Megu smiled brightly again. "So you do like my singing!" she said, voice teasing.

"... Don't make this any more painful for me than it already is." Suigintou huffed, her entire face reddening as she rolled over in Megu's loose grip to look out the window.

"Hai*3, hai..." Megu cleared her throat.

_The thorns of the wild orange are in bloom..._

...

Suigintou closed her eyes, a peaceful smile appearing on her face.

...

_The white, white flowers are in bloom..._

...

_The thorns of the wild orange, will hurt you..._

...

_The blue, blue thorns are sharp as needles..._

...

_I'll find a way to fix her, somehow. Until then, this promise of forever, even in death, will have to suffice._

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A/N

Hope you enjoyed this :) Please leave a review, and feel free to point out any obvious grammar errors, or even missing words. (Though, I won't be making any changes to the actual story :P)

The song was used in Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen/2013, and presumably the manga. I don't know if it was used in the first adaptation. It is called "Karatachi no Hana" to the best of my knowledge.

-Oakfeather


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